St. John's grad McKinstry begins BGSU football career on positive note

Sep. 11—BOWLING GREEN — Jaedyn McKinstry's story has been well-documented, but the rest of his journey is just beginning.

Bowling Green State University football's season opener at Tennessee on Sept. 2 was the first day of the life ahead of the St. John's Jesuit graduate after an arduous battle with cancer kept the athlete away from athletics.

"I think it prepared me for life in general," McKinstry said. "It showed me that anything can be taken from me at any moment in time, so you just try to be grateful for everything. You just can't take anything for granted and work hard in anything you do."

The 6-foot-5, 210-pound freshman at Bowling Green in 2018 was diagnosed with Stage 4 Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), a rare type of cancer that forms in soft skeletal muscle tissue. He underwent treatment through June of 2019, and had to rebuild his stamina and muscle to pursue athletics again at St. John's.

McKinstry was discovered by BGSU coach Scot Loeffler while the then-Boston College coach was scouting a teammate of his: now-University of Cincinnati quarterback Brady Lichtenberg.

Coaching at Boston College, Loeffler saw a freshman in McKinstry who had plenty of room to develop into a receiver.

"Whenever I went over to evaluate [Lichtenberg], and he was a freshman at the time, and I remember writing in my notebook that this guy has got a chance to be a really good football player," Loeffler said of McKinstry. "And then, I think I had one more year at Boston College, and I remember coming back and I remember going in thinking, 'What happened to Jaedyn?' He just disappeared off the map, and [I] had no clue about his story about having cancer."

Loeffler maintained connections with McKinstry and St. John's head coach Larry McDaniel, who was a longtime assistant college coach at numerous places, including BGSU.

McKinstry joined the BGSU football team as a preferred walk-on with a scholarship on the line if he went out and earned it.

He earned it.

On Aug. 29, McKinstry was with the team in a meeting. His coach got a call from his mother, Cassandra, and on the TV screen nearby, a video message appeared.

"Jaedyn, you believed in yourself enough for the both of us, and because of your dedication, your hard work, [and] your faith in God, I'm proud to say as of today, August 29th, 2021, you have earned a full scholarship at Bowling Green State University," Cassandra McKinstry said in the video message among family members.

The full ride was given before Jaedyn McKinstry set foot on the field for a live game. When Week 1 rolled by and the Falcons played at Tennessee, McKinstry immediately proved the worth of the scholarship.

Midway through the first quarter on a second-and-10 play, quarterback Matt McDonald connected with McKinstry on a slant pattern that resulted in a 13-yard gain and a first down for the Falcons. His first career catch was chased by two more for nine yards for a total of three catches for 22 yards in his first college game.

"He looked like he belonged, and he'll only get better with time," Loeffler said. "He's got to get stronger, he needs to gain some more knowledge, but his best football is down the road for him, for sure."

McKinstry was a second team All-Three Rivers Athletic Conference choice following the 2020 season. He had 18 catches for 268 yards and four touchdowns for McDaniel, who has been with McKinstry every step of the way through football and through his cancer treatments.

Getting to BGSU and earning a scholarship was equally a special moment for McDaniel as it was for the McKinstrys.

"It's just a miracle that he is even able to do that, so we couldn't be more proud of the kid," McDaniel said this week. "There's no hiding my emotions when it comes to that kid. ... It was just one of those seminal moments. It came full circle."

McKinstry originally joined the team as a tight end, but he has moved to the wide receiver room.

He is learning along with much of the offense. Junior Austin Osborne and senior Cavon Croom headline the Falcons passing attack, but behind them is a crop of freshmen and redshirt freshmen at receiver and tight end that project as a part of the long-term plans of the program.

"We love coming in as the underdog," McKinstry said. "Not too many people believe in us as a program, but everyone in that locker room and everyone in this building believes that we can win every game we play, so we're going to come out and think that way every day."

First Published September 10, 2021, 10:19am